A look at levees - Updates on those pricey House races - Building U.S. Corps strength - Shifting seats at American - MWAA expands board

FROM KATRINA TO ISAAC: It’s always the levees. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, ruptured levees gave lawmakers a bully pulpit for all things wrong with the country’s infrastructure priorities. Now fortified levees are evoking the shouts. Hurricane Isaac’s August torrent caused more than flooding outside New Orleans’s $14.6 billion levee system: It brewed another storm. Those waterlogged communities have shifted attention back to lagging responsibilities of the Army Corps of Engineers and continued inadequacies in the federal levee system. Isaac is new ammunition. “The federal government and the taxpayers are going to continue to waste millions and millions of dollars, not only in south Louisiana but in areas all over the country until they build the right kind of flood protections,” Sen. Mary Landrieu, head of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, told Jessica. Pick up today’s POLITICO paper or click through for her full story: http://politi.co/SwXxKm

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TIN MEDAL? The fourth-most expensive House race in the country for outside spending goes to Minnesota’s 8th District, where T&I-er (and FAA, surface bill conferee) Chip Cravaack is getting hit by nine Democratic groups, Alex Isenstadt reports. Cravaack is getting some support from the NRCC and American Action Network, but not to the level of the other guys, who are mostly running ads opposing Cravaack rather than supporting DFL candidate Rick Nolan. The total price tag with a month to go: $3.4 million. http://politi.co/PtygMj

$ gone wild: MT has been watching the gradual creep of independent money into transportation races, and there are plenty that aren’t far behind Cravaack’s. Leonard Boswell (T&I member) vs. Tom Latham (THUD chairman) is nearing $1.7M total in outside spending, the most recent volleys largely coming from the NRCC and DCCC. Senior Dem T&I-er Tim Bishop’s race against Randy Altschuler crested the $1 million mark recently, as the NRCC poured in about $300,000 late last week. Top transportation Dem Rep. Nick Rahall’s rematch with Rick Snuffer also ran into seven digits last week, as the NRCC put in a $137,000 media buy opposing the longtime legislator. Another race we are tracking, Rep. Jeff Denham’s contest with Jose Hernandez, is ready to crack Isenstadt’s top five, with $3 million in independent expenditures after the U.S. Chamber put in $600,000 opposing Hernandez recently. The American Hospital Association PAC has taken some interest in T&I races recently too, boosting the candidacies of committee member Richard Hanna and Charles Boustany, who is squaring off against T&I member Jeff Landry in a R-vs.-R contest in Louisiana.

Doin’ it big: Guess who was in Duluth earlier this week meeting with one of his committee freshman to discuss Minnesota’s ports? T&I Chairman John Mica, shown here with his Aviation Vice-Chairman Cravaack, who tweeted out photographic evidence: http://bit.ly/PUIBDn

UNSECURED SEATING: A third seat came loose in-flight last week, American Airlines said Tuesday, boosting safety concerns for the beleaguered airline. The FAA is already looking into the matter. An AA spokeswoman said seat issues did not come from frustrated workers but that a problem could exist with the way they fit into Boeing 757’s floor tracks. AP: http://bo.st/SZLYr5

TWU: Not labor’s fault: The Transport Workers Union defended workers, also launching an investigation into the loose seats issue. “Statements by some in the media and by self-appointed ‘experts’ linking the seat problems to labor issues are without any basis in fact,” Bobby Gless, the deputy director of the TWU’s air transportation division, said in a statement. He indicated that seat problems were more likely “a management issue related to outsourcing work to third-party facilities.”

Inspections: After the second set of loose seats was found, AA said it would expand its inspection to eight of its Boeing 757s (Businessweek: http://buswk.co/SlLTnd). Later AP reports said the airline is “continuing to inspect other jets with similar seating” ( http://bit.ly/SlMEN7).

SCALING THE CLIFF: Our colleagues John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman report that a “Gang of 8” will meet next week to begin work on a plan to avoid the double whammy posed by looming tax-cut expirations and sequestration. http://politi.co/SwZwhy

NO DEBATE ABOUT WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TONIGHT: We’ll be watching to see if either President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney get into any transportation talk tonight, as requested by Building America’s Future, but for all your additional Denver debate needs we recommend you tune in to POLITICO LIVE’s special debate coverage, which begins at 8 p.m. with Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and the POLITICO team on set at POLITICO HQ and live from Denver. POLITICO.com will live stream the debate in full, with analysis immediately after.

NO PLAN: Industry leaders fear the United States has no overall infrastructure plan, according to a survey of more than 100 infrastructure executives. The survey, released Tuesday by CG/LA Infrastructure, found 93 percent believe no such proposal exists. They ranked bridges and oft-ignored water as the most needed investments. Almost 94 percent said the federal government plays an inadequate role in infrastructure development. Respondents labeled public-private partnerships, an increase in the gas tax and the creation of a national infrastructure bank as top priorities. Check it out: http://bit.ly/SlGTPs

TRAFFICKING, NOT TRAFFIC: DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood and Amtrak President Joe Boardman will appear together Thursday morning at Union Station to announce a “new partnership” among the three agencies to combat human trafficking. President Obama previewed the announcement last week at the Clinton Global Initiative: “We’re going to work with Amtrak, and bus and truck inspectors, so that they’re on the lookout."

DOUBLE DOWN: If the American Freedom Defense Initiative’s “Support Israel/Defeat Jihad” ads come to the Washington Metro, the same group that is buying ads to combat what it calls “blatantly hate-filled” posters on the New York Subway will do the same in D.C. “If these ads come to D.C., you can expect that Sojourners will do a similar ad buy to the one in NYC,” a spokeswoman said after reading MT’s article Tuesday. The group is using the Internet to help raise funds for its competing displays.

MT POLL — Grade MAP-21: Most of the bill’s policy changes kicked in this week. How are you celebrating? Or are you holding a wake for what could have been a longer-term bill with major funding increases? Maybe you’re indifferent and just glad that Congress passed something in an election year. Our polls are anonymous so tell us what you really think of MAP-21 before Sunday at noon: http://bit.ly/UT8o3g

A TAXING ISSUE: Rep. Dan Lungren’s attacks on Democratic opponent Ami Bera’s remark about the gas tax in 2010 have created quite a stir out west — and Elk Grove Patch editor Cody Kitaura comes through with audio from a two-year old tele-town hall. Here’s what MT hears Bera say in response to a caller wondering how energy conservation can be encouraged: “I think your question was right on. One idea that’s certainly out there is thinking about a gas tax to reduce consumption. As a doctor, we certainly saw what happened to smoking rates. So that’s certainly something worth exploring.” Lungren’s attack: “He wants you to pay more at the pump than you do now, not for infrastructure.” And then via Kitaura, Bera’s campaign offered this statement, then refused to comment further: "Bera does not support increasing the gas tax and never has. … He was asked if an increase in the tax would help curb consumption and he replied that it would, although he never stated that doing so was a good idea. He didn’t support it then, and he does not support it now.” Listen for yourself: http://bit.ly/U2TAQC

- N.D. student has studied transportation law’s effects on teen drivers and applauds that they likely will be involved in peer-to-peer safety efforts. SADD: http://bit.ly/SwMUHm

TIFIA APPROVAL: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood approved a $545 million TIFIA loan for Los Angeles County’s construction of a $1.75 billion light rail line through the Crenshaw corridor earlier this week. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been a vocal proponent of the innovative financing program and helped push Congress to vastly expand TIFIA in the new transportation law. Here’s a handy dandy map of the project: http://1.usa.gov/UDSci0

MAILBAG — CMAQ-a-lackin’: A coalition including the NRDC and the BlueGreen Alliance wrote Secretary LaHood earlier this week sounding the alarm over changes to the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality improvement program that could be cut steeply. The writers also suggest offering more funding flexibility for CMAQ as well as opening up comment periods for 30 days before money is diverted from polluted areas. Read it: http://bit.ly/QGB8tw

Air quality, not quantity: UCLA researchers found that last year’s Carmaggedon highway closure in L.A. improved air quality within 10 miles of the shuttered road by 83 percent. http://bit.ly/SzCjI3

FINED: DOT has fined Xtra Airways $300,000 for canceling public charter flights with less than 10 days’ notice and not giving ticket-holders another travel option, the agency said today. Xtra was a carrier for Direct Air, which went out of business in March. DOT also said Xtra failed to secure payment before a charter flight, as required. It is the second DOT fine related to Direct Air. DOT has more: http://1.usa.gov/VpcqiA

THE COUNTDOWN: DOT funding runs out in 176 days, passenger rail policy in 363 days, surface transportation policy in 728 days and FAA policy in 1,093 days. There are 34 days before the general election, and the 113th Congress convenes in 95 days.

ASK AMTRAK’S JULIE: Amtrak has a new face. Julie, which the railroad dubs “your virtual assistant,” is a new feature on Amtrak’s web page that lets customers ask questions online. MT took it for a spin and found that most questions were answered simply by directing us to the right Amtrak page. For example, asking her how much a hamburger costs (something Chairman Mica might do if he were to use the site) sent us to the “meals & dining” page. Amtrak’s page gets 200,000 daily visitors. Check it out for yourself by clicking on the icon on the top right and asking her a question: http://bit.ly/UDQflt

CABOOSE — Nats and Metro: Thanks to LivingSocial, fans of a certain NL East champion baseball team will get to the take the Metro home after games. But where do they go? Greater Greater Washington got its hands on some WMATA data and whipped up a handy chart and map. Gallery Place-Chinatown is the most popular post-Nats Metro destination, with Vienna coming in second thanks to all the NoVa fans. Adam’s own Columbia Heights station, which he used after watching them clinch the East on Monday night, is ninth on the list. More, via GGW: http://bit.ly/UDQzRj

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About The Author

John Burgess Everett is a congressional reporter for POLITICO. He previously was a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro, Web producer, helping run POLITICO’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, and a contributor to the On Media blog.

About The Author

Adam Snider is a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro and author of Morning Transportation. He has covered transportation since 2007, joining POLITICO in 2011 to launch MT and later found the word “Mica-ism.”

Snider is a fan of all modes of transportation, though nothing beats a good silly walk. In his spare time, he can be found brewing a hoppy beer, rooting for the Nationals, watching a bad 1970s horror movie or exploring the District from his home base in Mount Pleasant.

Adam studied English and communications at Clemson University in South Carolina. His work has been featured by Nieman Journalism Lab and his snark has appeared on MSNBC. He has had several works of fiction published in literary journals and is constantly reminded of his proclamation to a fiction professor many years ago that journalism is for sellouts who abandon their creative dreams.